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Murder suspect back behind bars

Joshua Blow appears in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington in October. Blow is accused of second-degree murder for the July 2014 death of toddler Aiden Haskins.(Photo: GLENN RUSSELL/FREE PRESS FILE)Buy Photo

Judge James Crucitti granted the motion a few days before the new year to hold Blow, 27, without bail once again. Blow is accused in the July death of 2-year-old Aiden Haskins.

Blow had been released from jail after Judge Michael Kupersmith said that probable cause in the case was "paper thin" and lowered Blow's bail to $25,000. Advantage Bail Bonds posted bail for Blow in September, and Blow lived with a cousin in Burlington since then under a 24-hour curfew.

The decision to hold Blow again comes after Judge James Crucitti's decision earlier in December to allow case prosecution to continue.

In his six-page ruling, Crucitti wrote that the evidence, when viewed in the light most favorable to the state, shows that Blow injured Aiden on the morning of the child's death, July 22, while the two were alone. Aiden is the child of Blow's now-former girlfriend.

Blow was initially held without bail at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans Town upon his arrest in July. He will be housed there once again as case proceedings continue.

In a motion to hold Blow without bail again, prosecutors said Aiden's medical documentation and the multiple stories told to police by Blow before his arrest as to how Aiden died show that the evidence of Blow's guilt is great.

"A person charged with an offense punishable by life imprisonment may be held without bail when the evidence of guilt is great," prosecutors wrote.

In August, new evidence emerged that put the date of Aiden's fatal injuries in question. Chief Medical Examiner Steven Shapiro had told the court that the child's fatal injuries appeared to be "days to weeks" old, but that he could not rule out the possibility of a final injury being received the morning of Aiden's death atop the healing injuries.

Blow has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. He faces a prison sentence of 20 years to life if found guilty.

Contact Elizabeth Murray at 651-4835 or emurray@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/LizMurraySMC.